PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

 Prep phrases are composed of a preposition (see your list) and the object of the preposition (a noun—which could be a complete subordinate clause by the way— or pronoun.) Prepositions indicate relationships, often in space (by, in, out) or time (before, after, during), but also of possession (of) or of logic or of cause, or the relation of an object to a set, (except) etc.  Prep phrases usually function as adverbs (preps of time for instance) or adjectives (prepositions of space) but can also function as nouns.  Remember a prepositional phrase can sometimes contain another phrase or even a clause.  Also, some words that you expect to be prepositions can sometimes function as subordinating conjunctions, (see list)  Underline the prepositional phrase(s) you find in each of the ten sentences below.

1. Upon my arrival, I was whisked into a secret chamber.

2. I can't complete the report without the information.

3. Who says you can go around the world in eighty days?

4. Come into the garden with me.

5. She wanted to go to the movies.

6. The girl from Pampa left her purse in the writing lab.

7. The stories in that book were translated by my professor.

8. She was looking for a man with money.

9. That picture behind my desk used to hang in the bedroom.

10. With a gleam in his eye, Big Dog snatched the pork chop.

Adapted from © Scott Foll 2001. All rights reserved.